Partners
by Kyrandis
Summary: /Did I seem unhappy working with you? Did I ever ask for too much? Was there something I should have said?/


**A/N: Reboot news is extremely depressing and I've been working on this off and on to make myself feel better about it. It makes sense for Bruce to be Batman, so I decided that if Dick must become Nightwing again, Damian should at least go to be his partner. But I'm too late anyways 'cause the horrible, horrible news has been revealed and Dick and Damian will no longer be a team. /SIGH**

**Oh well, have a fic. Enjoy~  
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><p>Dick looked positively delighted as he messily stuffed clothes and clothes into his already overflowing suitcase, humming a happy little tune to himself as he tried in vain to push the stack down. His efforts proved fruitless, and Damian looked on in silence until, with an exasperated sigh, he upturned the whole thing, dumping its contents out. He started picking up the clothes—now a mountain on the floor—one by one and folded them properly before setting them back in the suitcase.<p>

"You seem awfully _happy_ about this whole arrangement," he commented unnecessarily, voice coming out a lot more sour than he had intended.

"And why wouldn't I be?" Dick asked, still humming as he passed more articles of clothing to Damian to be folded.

Damian shrugged. "I didn't realize you'd be so _eager _to leave Gotham."

"Oh, I'll miss this place, all right," Dick replied. "It's crazy here, but it's still home. But _Batman—_was never who I was meant to be."

Damian scowled; Dick must have misinterpreted its meaning, for he said, "I know, I know, I never would have amounted to your dad, right?"

"Father is—" Damian hesitated. "Father is Batman," he acknowledged.

"He is who he is," mused Dick. "I'm looking forward to being Nightwing again, in any case."

He didn't list any reasons, but Damian felt sure he knew very well the _why_.

Dick would be able to just be himself—no more being expected to fill someone else's shoes. No more feeling pressured to be someone he wasn't, someone he could never be.

And no more being dragged down by a _sidekick_.

Damian's frown deepened. "What about me?" he couldn't help but ask. _Are you really okay with just leaving me? Don't I matter at all?  
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Dick sighed. "Well, I'm gonna miss working with you, but Bruce already said you could still be Robin, and that's good, right? You'll do fine. I'm not sure how _Tim_ feels about this yet, but—"

"Who _cares_ how Drake feels?" Damian interrupted testily. "I certainly don't."

"Well, then," said Dick carefully, "I don't see what the problem is."

_The 'problem' is _you_, _thought Damian, but he refused to say it out loud. He didn't see why he couldn't go work with Dick. But he didn't want to ask, either. Dick didn't even seem upset about the situation at all.

...Shit. What if Dick had been _waiting _for this day? He must have known Bruce would come back to Gotham eventually. What if he'd been hoping for the opportunity to leave Damian all along?

His throat felt tight. So instead of saying anything, he silently put the last shirt in the suitcase and closed it.

"Thanks, Dami," Dick said. "You're a good kid, you know."

"Tt." Damian stood up. He swallowed, and the lump in his throat lessened a bit. "Your train leaves in...two hours?" he checked.

"And a half. Tim should be here soon. I'll say my goodbyes, then Alfie will drive me to the train station."

"Right. ...Grayson."

"Hm?"

"I—if I—" He shook his head. "Never mind. I'll see you later."

x x x

Dick, looking from person to person, shook his head. "Man, I _hate_ goodbyes," he said.

Damian rolled his eyes. "It's not like we'll never see you again," he pointed out with forced scorn.

Dick smiled ruefully at him for a moment, but quickly returned his attention to Bruce.

"Bye, Bruce," he said, hugging his former mentor.

Bruce, gruff as ever, briefly returned the hug and rumbled, "I expect we'll still see each other on business."

"Of course."

_Yes,_ thought Damian, _on _business. _But it won't be as often, and it won't be the _same.

The hug between Tim and Dick was short and stiff. It was clear that things were still rocky between them, but Dick seemed optimistic that they could still patch things up.

"Bye, Timmy. I'll be hearing from you too, I hope. Don't try to take too much on by yourself, okay? You have friends. We'll help you."

Tim's smile, still strained, became a bit more genuine—just a bit. "Yeah...I know. Take care, Dick."

It was Damian's turn now. Dick knelt down in front of him and put his hands on his shoulders. His eyes scanned over him once, then he pulled him close, wrapping him in his warm embrace.

"I'm gonna miss you, Little D," he murmured.

Damian stood awkward and unsure, not returning the hug, but not pushing it away, either. "Y-eah," he said. "Don't...don't get yourself killed."

Dick pulled away. "Aw, you do care," he teased. "But you don't have to worry about me. I can manage myself."

"As can I," Damian replied. _I'm not a burden; I won't be a burden. Let me stay with you._

The underlying message was lost on Dick, who just smiled at him again. "I know you can. And I'll visit a lot to see how you're doing, okay? So work hard, buddy."

"...I will."

Farewells done, Dick straightened up and followed Alfred out of the house. One more wave before they climbed into the car and, just like that... He was gone.

x x x

_Did I seem unhappy working with you? Did I ever ask for too much? Was there something I should have said?_

Damian wasn't having this. He wasn't. As soon as Tim had left, as soon as Bruce had gone back down to the Batcave, Damian went to his room and grabbed his own already-packed suitcase.

He considered leaving a note, but what was there to say? The message sent simply by his leaving would be clear enough.

He headed for the train station.

By the time Damian arrived, breathing heavily from the effort of running all the way, he feared he might already be too late, but he checked his watch and—no, he still had time. He had five minutes. Five minutes to convince Dick.

Damian saw him sitting, waiting for his train.

"Grayson!" he called, running over to him. He already had his whole speech prepared: Pros, cons, how the pros outweighed the cons, rebuttals—_everything_, so that when he was done, there would be _no way_ Dick could refuse to let him go with him.

But every word was forgotten the moment Dick turned and stared at him.

His eyes were red. Tears still streamed down his face and dripped from his chin. But he didn't really look sad so much as...extremely _tired_.

Everything he had said earlier, every smile he had given them, were they all just...a _front_? How had Damian not noticed this? That Dick might be just as torn apart from this as he was?

He stepped in front of Dick, setting his suitcase down. "Idiot," he muttered, glaring. "If you didn't want to leave, you should have just said so."

Dick wiped at his face and tried to put on a smile. "Working with your father is what you've always wanted, Damian. I'm not going to take that away from you."

"Idiot!" Damian repeated angrily, vision blurring with tears. He blinked them back but a few escaped and slid down his cheek regardless. "Being Robin isn't what I want anymore."

Dick's brows furrowed in confusion, but in his eyes, hope battled the tears. Damian lifted his chin, holding his gaze steadily and speaking with utmost certainty.

"It's being your partner."


End file.
